Award winning actor, writer, philanthropist, humanitarian and entrepreneur Gbenga Akinnagbe is SIA-Africa Person of the Month for July 2019.
Currently starring in the Broadway play To Kill a Mockingbird, Akinnagbe is also best known for his ground breaking roles in HBO series “The Wire” and in “The Deuce” as well as in the Oscar-nominated independent film “The Savages”.
Born in Washington, D.C., Akinnagbe is the second of six children. He attended college at Bucknell University, participating in the wrestling program with aspirations of becoming a professional wrestler.
In addition to his actor career, Akinnagbe is also devoting his time to his philanthropic and activist work.
In 2012, Akinnagbe founded Liberated People, a lifestyle brand that creates sustainable eco-friendly clothes and accessories to commemorate freedom fighters who have inspired people to act. The foundation works with communities around the world and is committed to partnering with various non-profit organizations working to improve the quality of life of their people. Within his company, Akinnagbe launched three campaigns/charities: #oursontrayvon, a designed hoodie to raise money for the Trayvon Martin Foundation, another is a partnership with Planned Parenthood and the foundation also raises money for Black Women's Blueprint.
Another business venture was launched by Gbenga Akinnagbe after he bought an old tattered armchair and integrated some African-patterned fabric which he had brought back from a trip in South Africa. Inspired by his heritage and Nigerian roots, Enitan is a vintage and repurposed furniture company based in Brooklyn founded in 2016 which partners with local artists to created inspired vintage and repurposed furniture with West African fabrics.
As part of his activist work, Gbenga Akinnagbe was honored at the Care for the Homeless gala in 2014 for his work and his support towards people struggling with homelessness in NYC.
He has been awarded the Trio Achiever Award by the Mid-Eastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel as distinguished alumni of the Upward Bound program. Akinnagbe is also very involved as a philanthropist and sits on the board of such nonprofits as Rewired for Change and Shine on Sierra Leone. In his free time, Akinnagbe is a freelance writer, and has contributed articles to the New York Times, Israeli-news source Haaretz, and Russell Simmon’s digital media company, Global Grind. He is currently working on his new project “Africans in Brooklyn”, a multimedia cultural art installation taking place in the Kingsborough projects in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
For his humanitarian and philanthropic work, as well as for promoting African heritage throughout culture and arts, SIA-Africa honors Gbenga Akinnagbe as its Person of the Month.
